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A number of major global airports across the US, such as Phoenix's Sky Harbor, Las Vegas's Harry Reid Airport, Seattle–Tacoma, and Charlotte Douglas in North Carolina, have chosen to prevent a public service announcement from Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem that attributes responsibility to Democrats for the current government closure from being shown at their screening locations.

Legal Issues Raised by Airport Officials

Airport officials in Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Portland, Oregon, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Westchester County have refused to show the video content at security checkpoints, stating that the clearly partisan content could breach federal and state regulations, including the Hatch Act of 1939, which forbids government workers from participating in political campaigning.

“Democrats in Congress refuse to finance the federal government, and as a result, many of our activities are impacted, and most of our Transportation Security Administration employees are unpaid,” Noem stated in the video.

The Port of Portland Response

The Port of Portland explained that it “would not agree to displaying the video in its current form, as we maintain the federal law clearly prohibits use of public assets for political purposes.” The port further stated that Oregon law prohibits public employees from supporting or criticizing any political party and that agreeing to broadcast this video would break Oregon law.

Las Vegas Statement

The Harry Reid airport also declined to display the TSA video on similar grounds, stating in a release that “the video's message contained political messaging that was inconsistent with the neutral, informational nature of the PSAs typically displayed at checkpoint screens” and also cited the Hatch Act.

Explaining the Hatch Act

The Hatch Act of 1939 is a U.S. law that forbids political activities by federal employees to ensure that government programs stay impartial.

Additional Airport Responses

• Phoenix Sky Harbor airport stated that it “declined to post the video” to stay “in line with airport guidelines,” which prohibits partisan material.
• The Port of Seattle, which operates Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, also declined, citing “the political nature of the video.”
• Charlotte airport said that North Carolina municipal law and the airport’s policy for digital content “do not permit the referenced video.” The authority also added that the TSA does not own any monitors at its checkpoints and that its few display monitors are reserved for directions, travel information, and paid advertisements.

Westchester Criticism

The county, in a statement, described the PSA “unacceptable, unacceptable, and out of line with the values we anticipate from our nation’s top public officials.”

“The public service announcement politicizes the impacts of a government closure on TSA operations,” the county leader stated, noting that the tone was “unnecessarily alarmist” and “erodes public trust.”

DHS Reply

A DHS official, an agency representative, echoed Noem’s language to attribute fault to “partisan tactics” in a statement, stating that “Democrats will soon realize the importance of reopening the government.”

Cross-Party Appeals for Solution

The Seattle authority said that it continued to “urge cooperative actions to end the government shutdown” and was working to find ways to support federal employees working without pay during the closure.